Edwin Flavell

Squadron Leader Edwin James George "Ted" Flavell (25 April 1922 – 24 February 2014) was the pilot of the No. 49 Squadron RAF Vickers Valiant bomber which dropped Britain's first live atomic bomb (Blue Danube) during Operation Buffalo at Maralinga, South Australia, on 11 October 1956.

Early life Ted Flavell was born in Battersea, London Borough of Wandsworth, on 25 April 1922, the first son of Edwin William Conquest Flavell (1898–1993), a British Army officer who served in World War I and World War II, eventually rising to the rank of Brigadier.

Military service Unlike his father and brother, James Sydney Channell "Jim" Flavell (1924–2008) who followed careers in the British Army, Ted was keen on joining the Royal Air Force and went to RAF Halton as an aircraft mechanic apprentice in 1937. In 1938 he was selected for aircrew and sent to Canada for pilot training.

Ted Flavell was next posted to Palestine during the Palestine Emergency, and on his return to England, married Sheila. He went on to the experimental establishment at RAF Beaulieu where he flew many different types of aircraft. decided to swap the last two, making the air drop the third test. The air drop was the most difficult test, as the worst-case scenario involved the radar fuses failing and the bomb detonating on impact with the ground, which would result in severe fallout. The RAF therefore conducted a series of practice drops with high explosive bombs. In the end, in view of the Atomic Weapons Tests Safety Committee's concerns about the dangers of a test, a low-yield Blue Danube core with less fissile material was substituted, reducing the yield of the Buffalo R3/Kite test to . Flavell and Stacey were awarded the Air Force Cross in the 1957 New Year Honours.

After withdrawing from active flying, Squadron Leader Flavell held positions within the Royal Air Force in aircrew selection, served a two-year posting to Aden and occupied a staff position at the Ministry of Defence. He eventually retired from the Royal Air Force in 1968 after over thirty years of service.

Later life In retirement, Flavell lived at Shipton Gorge in southwest Dorset. In Shipton he was involved in hospital patient transport work and Royal Air Forces Association welfare work, for which he was made life vice-president of the latter organisation.

Family

Flavell was the first son of Brigadier Edwin Flavell and his first wife Norah Alice Cooper.

With his wife Sheila, Ted Flavell had three children. His daughter died in 1990 and his wife in 2001. Squadron Leader Flavell died on 24 February 2014 at the age of 91. He was survived by a son and daughter, six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.